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^who's fight prediction was that? Damn near spot on except for the knockdown.
Please lock.
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by proshares,
- Start date
lightweight champion
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Ring Magazine
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To get in the Lara Canelo debate as stated earlier the b-side always needs to know to close the show and fight a perfect fight because the a-side always gets the nod. Boxing is full of politics. Do I think Lara won? Yes close but a W. I kept screaming at my tv the whole time telling Lara to close every rd in the final seconds like he could hear me lol, but as we all know he would play it safe and that's where Canelo got the nod smh
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PPV #'s out on the Canelo/Lara yet?
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Word is out that Pacquiao is fighting Chris Algeiri in november on ppv in China. I give Algeiri zero chance of winning
This isnt going to sell at all
This isnt going to sell at all
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Man that press conference made me feel sorry for Mayweather. As old and rich as he is and all dude wants to talk about is swag and his clothes/jewels? Must be super insecure/lonely.
Even though he'll be mopping the floor with Maidana again, I hope Maidana gets to wear Puncher's gloves and bust him up a bit.
Even though he'll be mopping the floor with Maidana again, I hope Maidana gets to wear Puncher's gloves and bust him up a bit.
mr marcus
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should be off this time around so I hopefully I can watch the fight
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I really don't think Mayweather cares to talk non-stop about his money.
He understands his role to be what he's portrayed himself as, and it sells.
Promoting is the stupidest part of boxing, and it hardly makes anyone look cool in my book
But I feel the same too
boxer15
when May does get on screen, I really feel sorry for the guy.
He understands his role to be what he's portrayed himself as, and it sells.
Promoting is the stupidest part of boxing, and it hardly makes anyone look cool in my book
But I feel the same too
boxer15
when May does get on screen, I really feel sorry for the guy.
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Garcia talking **** to mayweather and maidana pushing him was hilarious
Even though mayweather did shut Garcia up about that corrales reference
Even though mayweather did shut Garcia up about that corrales reference
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I am going to study Chisora and Fury a bit. I think Fury wins by decision again but the fight will play out differently, both will have a higher work rate.
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I thought it was 115-113 for Lara. Not too upset that Canelo won, a lot of close rounds. Still think they're both overrated anyway.
Recap of the fights this past weekend.
Going to update the OP with the rest of the July schedule and the title with this week's fights.
Recap of the fights this past weekend.
A roundup of the past week's notable boxing results from around the world:
Saturday at Las Vegas
Canelo Alvarez W12 Erislandy Lara
Junior middleweight
Scores: 117-111, 115-113 Alvarez, 115-113 Lara
Records: Alvarez (44-1-1, 31 KOs); Lara (19-2-2, 12 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Here's the bottom line: A fighter who boxes and moves can be appreciated and win plenty of fights. Just ask pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr., the No. 1 pay-per-view star in boxing. But a boxer who literally runs around the ring for long stretches and rarely stops to plant and throw serious punches is unlikely to be rewarded by the judges. That was Lara's problem in this fight. He was so negative as he literally ran, fought going backward and never wanted to remotely engage Alvarez, the 23-year-old Mexican star and the overwhelming favorite among the raucous crowd of 14,239 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Professional boxing is typically scored by rewarding the fighter who is more aggressive, hits harder and does more damage. That was Alvarez. If you want to win by merely touching your opponent, running and declining to engage in any meaningful way, stick to the amateurs.
Lara, 31, who now lives in Houston, was a star amateur in the Cuban powerhouse program, winning a world title in 2005. He won hundreds of amateur fights. He has been a good professional also, beating opponents such as Austin Trout and Alfredo Angulo (opponents Alvarez has also beaten) and claiming a world title. But he didn't come to fight Alvarez, the former unified junior middleweight titlist before losing his belts to Mayweather in September.
Lara, a southpaw, boxed well early on, threw some nice jabs and straight left hands to raise some swelling around Alvarez's right eye. But then his game degenerated into running, and Alvarez spent most of the fight chasing him around the ring as Lara put his back on the ropes and slid from one side of the ring to the other, doing all he could not to engage the much more powerful Alvarez.
The bout was contracted at 155 pounds, so Lara's 154-pound world title was not at stake, and Alvarez didn't want to fight for it anyway. Lara said he would break Alvarez's face, but instead he did not come to fight. Alvarez did, and that was the difference. Any element of controversy centers strictly on Levi Martinez's 117-111 scorecard. That's not the best scorecard ever and maybe it's off by a couple of rounds, but it doesn't change the fact that Alvarez won the fight, even if it was close.
Alvarez landed an uppercut in the seventh round that opened a bloody cut over Lara's right eye. Alvarez's jab was totally ineffective (a measly 9 of 183, 5 percent) but he landed 88 of 232 power shots (38 percent) while Lara landed 52 of 140 power shots (37 percent).
Overall, Alvarez connected on 97 of 415 punches (23 percent) and Lara landed 107 of 386 (28 percent), according to CompuBox punch statistics. Alvarez's were more solid while the bulk of Lara's were either jabs or punches with little steam on them because he did not throw them with authority.
After the fight, Lara, who had spent ages calling Alvarez out on social media and crashed his news conference after beating Angulo in March, called for a rematch. That is laughable. He's not going to get one because there is no point. It was a bad fight because of the way he fought, and who would pony up to buy it again? Lara had his chance and he blew it. But he still has his belt and, thanks to having Al Haymon as his adviser, likely will find a place somewhere on television, just not on a big pay-per-view in a rematch. Alvarez, however, will be back in November, according to Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya. Hopefully, his next opponent will come to fight, not just talk a big game and then run away.
Abner Mares W10 Jonathan Oquendo
Featherweight
Scores: 98-92 (twice), 96-94
Records: Mares (27-1-1, 14 KOs); Oquendo (24-4, 16 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: The good news for Mares, the former three-division titleholder, is that he returned from an 11-month layoff and his first loss to score a clear victory. The bad news for Mares was that it was a sloppy, sluggish performance that was a far cry from his best, when he rolled through bantamweight, junior featherweight and featherweight to win world titles in a 21-month span.
Mares, 28, a former Mexican Olympian living in Southern California, admitted that he was rusty from the time off following a first-round knockout loss to Jhonny Gonzalez, who scored that huge upset last summer to take Mares' featherweight belt. Mares was also getting used to his new trainer, Virgil Hunter, whom he was working with for the first time since leaving Clemente Medina. Implementing Hunter's more defensively responsible style must have been a change for Mares, whose offensive was not nearly as sharp as usual against Oquendo, 30, of Puerto Rico, who gave Mares a few problems, including opening a terrible cut over his left eye in the fourth round. Jacob "Stitch" Duran, Mares' cutman, did a tremendous job of closing the wound, which never became a major problem. But Mares was methodical and landed 49 percent of his power punches, according to CompuBox, which doubled up Oquendo, who landed 24 percent.
All in all, Mares won a terribly boring fight but did what was necessary -- win, and put himself back in position to fight for a title again, be it a rematch with Gonzalez, which he claims he wants, or some other notable fight.
Francisco Vargas TKO3 Juan Manuel Lopez
Junior lightweight
Records: Vargas (20-0-1, 14 KOs); Lopez (34-4, 31 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Vargas, 29, a 2008 Mexican Olympian managed by Joel De La Hoya (Oscar's brother), scored by far the biggest win of his career in impressive fashion while also hopefully sending Lopez, a former junior featherweight and featherweight titlist, into retirement. Vargas destroyed Lopez, who looked hurt every time Vargas grazed his chin. Lopez, who has been drilled in all four of his losses, simply can't take a powerful punch anymore. The 2004 Puerto Rican Olympian reacts so poorly to shots that he looks like a bad injury waiting to happen if he keeps fighting.
Vargas hurt Lopez in the second round and continued to batter him in the action-packed third round, which should be a round-of-the-year candidate. They were trading toe-to-toe during the third, but Vargas was cleaning Lopez's clock and finally dropped him with a hail of shots late in the round. Lopez, 31, beat the count and looked shaky, taking a tremendous pounding as the round came to an end.
While Lopez, who has a huge heart, surely would have continued for as long as he could, his corner did the wise thing and threw in the towel with Lopez on the stool. The knockout win Lopez had in March over former titleholder Daniel Ponce De Leon in their rematch temporarily resurrected Lopez's career, but Ponce De Leon was even more shot than Lopez is now. This should be the end for Lopez, who had a tremendously exciting career. For Vargas, this was a big step toward a possible 130-pound world title shot.
Mauricio Herrera W12 Johan Perez
Wins an interim junior welterweight title
Scores: 116-112 (twice), 114-114
Records: Herrera (21-4, 7 KOs); Perez (19-2-1, 13 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Without question, Herrera's hard-fought victory against Perez was the fight of the night on the "Honor & Glory" pay-per-view. These guys came to do battle and they entertained the fans throughout a close, competitive fight.
Perez, 31, of Venezuela, was making the second defense of his interim belt (whatever that is worth), but Herrera was up to the task. In March, Herrera took on the real division champ, Danny Garcia, and lost a majority decision that many thought he clearly won. He looked just as sharp against Perez. The fight started a bit slowly as they adjusted to each others' awkward style but by the fifth round the fight was in full blaze and Herrera had seemingly taken command. Herrera, 34, of Riverside, California, rocked Perez in the fifth round with a right hand. In the eighth round they traded with abandon with some of the best action of the fight. They went back and forth, round after round, but Herrera was a touch better and landed the crisper shots. It was a well-deserved victory for a very good fighter, who with the performances against Garcia and Perez earned himself another high-profile fight.
Tomoki Kameda KO7 Pungluang Sor Singyu
Retains a bantamweight title
Scores: 116-112 (twice), 114-114
Records: Kameda (30-0, 19 KOs); Sor Singyu (46-3, 31 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Kameda is one of Japan's fighting Kameda brothers, who have all won world titles, including Koki (bantamweight) and Daiki (junior bantamweight). At one point, they all held world titles simultaneously, the first time in boxing history three brothers had done that, but Tomoki might turn out to be the best of the trio.
He celebrated his 23rd birthday with a sweet one-punch knockout of mandatory challenger Sor Singyu, 26, of Thailand. Kameda was making his second title defense in what was also his U.S. debut. He has been based in Mexico recently, fighting out of the Canelo Promotions stable, and landed a slot on Canelo Alvarez's undercard because of it. He impressed against a normally durable opponent, who was also fighting in the United States for the first time.
Kameda used his speed and quick punches to fluster Sor Singyu, who marched forward looking to make it a slugfest. He attacked Kameda's body in an effort to slow him down and also rocked him with a right hand in the fourth round. But the patient Kameda finally found an opening and connected with a perfect left hook to the liver, which cut Sor Singyu down as if he had been shot. He was in agony on the mat when referee Russell Mora waved it off at 1 minute, 35 seconds. Kameda's U.S. television debut was impressive and hopefully we will see more of him.
Saturday at Liverpool, England
Tony Bellew TKO5 Julio Cesar Dos Santos
Cruiserweight
Records: Bellew (22-2-1, 14 KOs); Dos Santos (26-3, 23 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Twice Bellew, of England, challenged for a light heavyweight world title, losing a disputed majority decision to Nathan Cleverly in 2011 and getting drilled in the sixth round by Adonis Stevenson in November. After that defeat, Bellew, 31, moved up to cruiserweight and won his second in a row in the division against Dos Santos, 36, of Brazil.
It was a pivotal victory because Cleverly won on the undercard. With both of them victorious in their showcase fights, promoter Eddie Hearn plans to make a rematch for the fall.
Dos Santos landed some solid right hands, especially in the third round, but Bellew took them well before ending the fight in explosive fashion in the fifth round, when he floored Dos Santos with a clean left hook to the jaw. Dos Santos beat the count, but he was very wobbly and referee Phil Edwards stopped the fight at 1 minute, 17 seconds.
Nathan Cleverly TKO4 Alejandro Valori
Cruiserweight
Records: Cleverly (28-1, 14 KOs); Valori (15-5, 11 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: In August, Cleverly lost his light heavyweight world title by a one-sided fourth-round destruction at the hands of Sergey Kovalev. In May, Cleverly, 27, of Wales, moved up to cruiserweight and returned with a second-round knockout win against a soft touch. Valori, 31, who was fighting outside of his native Argentina for the first time and taking a massive step up in his competition level, was Cleverly's second soft touch in a row.
The idea was for Cleverly to win this showcase fight, with Tony Bellew winning in the main, to set up a fall rematch of Cleverly's majority decision win in their excellent 2011 light heavyweight world title bout. Mission accomplished.
Valori looked like he might give Cleverly some problems when he rocked him with a left uppercut in the first round, but he did very little besides that. Cleverly knocked Valori down to a knee with a digging left hook to the body in the second round. He continued to attack Valori to the body and dropped him again with another hook to the body in the fourth round. Although Valori beat the count, referee Terry O'Connor didn't like what he saw and waved off the fight at 1minute, 16 seconds. The path is now clear for Cleverly-Bellew II.
Anthony Joshua TKO2 Matt Skelton
Heavyweight
Records: Joshua (7-0, 7 KOs); Skelton (28-9, 23 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: The 2012 British Olympic super heavyweight gold medalist took on the most notable opponent of his young career in former world title challenger Skelton and blew him away in most impressive fashion. Granted, Skelton -- the former British, Commonwealth and European champion -- is 47 and had not fought in 16 months. But compared to the previous six opponents Joshua has faced, he was Joe Louis. Ideally, Skelton would have at least given Joshua some rounds -- Joshua still has not been past two full rounds.
Joshua went right at Skelton to make it a physical fight in the first round as he roughed him up and backed him into the ropes. But Skelton, in his third straight loss, got in a few solid shots that Joshua took well. By the end of the round, Joshua was firing his stiff jab down the middle into Skelton's face and had landed two hard right hands.
A right hand rocked Skelton midway through the second round and another big right hand dropped him. Skelton barely beat the count and Joshua nailed him with a jab and a right hand, sending him into the ropes. Referee Steve Gray jumped in to save the wobbly Skelton at 2 minutes, 33 seconds. It was a most impressive performance from Joshua, who will be back in action Aug. 30 in Dublin against Yaroslav Zavorotnyi (16-7, 14 KOs) of Ukraine, who took British prospect David Price the 10-round distance in a June 7 loss.
Also on the card, two other 2012 British Olympians won: Gold medalist Luke Campbell (6-0, 4 KOs), 26, took a six-round shutout decision (60-54) over Craig Woodruff (5-4, 2 KOs), 21, of Wales, in a lightweight bout, and bronze medalist Anthony Ogogo (7-0, 4 KOs), 25, stopped Wayne Reed (10-9, 5 KOs), 26, of England, at 1 minute, 6 seconds of the fifth round in their middleweight contest.
Friday at Shelton, Wash.
Tureano Johnson W10 Mike Gavronski
Middleweight
Scores: 99-91 (three times)
Records: Johnson (15-1, 10 KOs); Gavronski (14-1-1, 10 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Johnson, 30, of the Bahamas, hit the radar in April when he battled Curtis Stevens in a fight-of-the-year contender that ended with Johnson on the short end of a quick stoppage in the 10th round. Making his return to the ring, Johnson had a much easier time as he rolled to a near-shutout of hometown fighter Garvonski, 28, of North Bend, Washington, in the "Friday Night Fights" main event.
Although Johnson, who needed extra time to lose an additional two pounds at the weigh-in, started a tad slowly, he cruised, keeping the pressure on Gavronski throughout and wearing him down. He was exhausted by the end of the fight and took a lot of punishment in the final couple of rounds.
"I wanted to get back in the win column," Johnson said afterward. "Gavronski is a good fighter with a lot of heart so I take my hat off to him for going the distance with me. I learned a lot in this fight and I feel I still have room to grow as a fighter. My goal is to become a champion one day and I'm not going to stop until I accomplish it."
Jonathan Maicelo W10 Art Hovhannisyan
Lightweight
Scores: 100-90, 97-93 Maicelo, 96-94 Hovhannisyan
Records: Maicelo (21-1, 12 KOs); Hovhannisyan (17-2-2, 9 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Maicelo, 30, who is from Peru but lives in North Bergen, New Jersey, won a split decision in an exciting fight -- but a split verdict? Please. It was bizarre that judge Glen Hamada could have possibly had Hovhannisyan, 32, of Glendale, California, winning the fight. There is no way Maicelo lost this fight. None. Oddball scoring aside, good fight here, but it was Maicelo who took control out of the gate.
Maicelo boxed well and landed some nice shots on Hovhannisyan, whose game is all about coming forward and applying pressure. But he didn't have a lot of success with that strategy against the slicker Maicelo, who swelled Hovhannisyan's left eye. In the end, the CompuBox punch statistics clearly illustrated how this fight went as Maicelo connected on 160 of 490 punches (33 percent) and Hovhannisyan landed 93 of 368 (25 percent).
One odd aspect of the fight was the big screwup by an inept timekeeper, who ended the fifth round after only two minutes.
Friday at Pittsburgh
Paul Spadafora W8 Hector Velazquez
Junior welterweight
Scores: 80-72, 79-73 (twice)
Records: Spadafora (49-1-1, 19 KOs); Velazquez (56-22-3, 28 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Former lightweight titlist Spadafora, 38, of Pittsburgh, whose problems outside the ring (alcoholism, jail time) have been well-chronicled, got a chance to fight Johan Perez for a vacant interim 140-pound belt in November and lost a majority decision in his first career defeat.
Making his return from that fight, Spadafora took on the ultra-experienced Velazquez, 39, of Mexico, who is way past his best days as a decent featherweight contender and was knocked out by Manny Pacquiao in 2005. Spadafora, a good southpaw with quick hands, rolled to the lopsided decision against the slower Velazquez, who is nothing more than an opponent these days. He cut Velazquez in the second round and sent him to his second loss in a row and fourth defeat in six bouts.
Thursday at Miami
Rances Barthelemy W12 Argenis Mendez
Wins a junior lightweight title
Scores: 115-111 (three times)
Records: Barthelemy (20-0, 12 KOs); Mendez (21-3-1, 11 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: On Jan. 3, Mendez defended his title against Barthelemy, who dominated the fight, knocked Mendez down late in the second round and then knocked him out moments later. However, the KO blows were thrown just after the bell rang to end the round, making them illegal. However, referee Pete Podgorski counted Mendez out and declared Barthelemy the winner despite having scored the knockout on an accidental foul.
Mendez, 28, a Dominican Republic native fighting out of Brooklyn, New York, protested the result to Minnesota regulators. The result was eventually changed to a no-decision and the title returned to him.
A rematch was ordered and while Mendez, who fell to an odd 0-1-1 with a no-decision in three title defenses, didn't get knocked out, he fought poorly in a bout that didn't seem as close as the scores. Barthelemy, 28, a Cuban defector living in Miami, finished what he started six months ago. He was more aggressive throughout the fight, which contained only sporadic action. But Barthelemy hurt Mendez in the first round and Mendez didn't seem very interested in fighting or throwing any punches for long stretches. His promoter, Mike Tyson, was begging him at ringside to get busy.
Referee Telis Assimenios docked Barthelemy one point in the ninth round and one in the 10th for low blows. He flirted with a disqualification but he was the clear winner in a crappy fight.
Humberto Savigne TKO2 Jeff Lacy
Light heavyweight
Records: Savigne (13-1, 10 KOs); Lacy (26-5, 18 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Savigne, 35, a former Cuban amateur standout now living in Miami, finished off the remnants of former super middleweight titleholder Lacy, 37, of St. Petersburg, Florida, who was never the same after taking an absolute beating in a title unification fight with Joe Calzaghe in 2006. Lacy, a 2000 U.S. Olympian, retired in 2010 only to make an ill-advised return in November, when he stopped D-level opponent Martin Verdin in the third round. In the second fight of the comeback, he got smoked by Savigne.
Savigne did damage in a brutally one-sided first round. He rocked Lacy with a right hand and followed it with a hard left to the body and two more right hands to the head to knock Lacy down. Lacy, who beat the count, complained that he was hit behind the head, but he leaned into the shot. Lacy's legs looked horrible and he was lucky to make it out of the first round.
Savigne continued to hammer Lacy in the second round. Every shot looked like it hurt Lacy. When Savigne landed about eight unanswered shots with Lacy cornered, referee Sam Burgos jumped in and waved it off at 2 minutes, 4 seconds. Lacy, who landed just 5 of 20 punches (25 percent), is totally finished. Savigne connected on 40 of 94 punches (43 percent), and despite his age and long amateur career (about 450 fights) looks like he could become a player at 175 pounds.
Also on the card, heralded welterweight prospect Erickson Lubin (6-0, 5 KOs), of Orlando, Florida, stepped way up in class compared to his first five opponents and pitched an 80-72 shutout on all three scorecards against the experienced Noe Bolanos (25-10-1, 16 KOs), 27, of Mexico. Lubin, an 18-year-old southpaw, was in his first scheduled eight-round fight and had no trouble with Bolanos or going the distance.
In another undercard bout of note, cruiserweight Yunier Dorticos (18-0, 17 KOs), 28, a former Cuban amateur standout living in Miami, went the distance for the first time as he routed long-faded former middleweight and super middleweight title challenger Edison Miranda (35-10, 30 KOs), 33, of Colombia, winning 100-90, 100-90 and 99-91. Miranda, winless since 2011, lost his fourth fight in a row.
Saturday at Las Vegas
Canelo Alvarez W12 Erislandy Lara
Junior middleweight
Scores: 117-111, 115-113 Alvarez, 115-113 Lara
Records: Alvarez (44-1-1, 31 KOs); Lara (19-2-2, 12 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Here's the bottom line: A fighter who boxes and moves can be appreciated and win plenty of fights. Just ask pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr., the No. 1 pay-per-view star in boxing. But a boxer who literally runs around the ring for long stretches and rarely stops to plant and throw serious punches is unlikely to be rewarded by the judges. That was Lara's problem in this fight. He was so negative as he literally ran, fought going backward and never wanted to remotely engage Alvarez, the 23-year-old Mexican star and the overwhelming favorite among the raucous crowd of 14,239 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Professional boxing is typically scored by rewarding the fighter who is more aggressive, hits harder and does more damage. That was Alvarez. If you want to win by merely touching your opponent, running and declining to engage in any meaningful way, stick to the amateurs.
Lara, 31, who now lives in Houston, was a star amateur in the Cuban powerhouse program, winning a world title in 2005. He won hundreds of amateur fights. He has been a good professional also, beating opponents such as Austin Trout and Alfredo Angulo (opponents Alvarez has also beaten) and claiming a world title. But he didn't come to fight Alvarez, the former unified junior middleweight titlist before losing his belts to Mayweather in September.
Lara, a southpaw, boxed well early on, threw some nice jabs and straight left hands to raise some swelling around Alvarez's right eye. But then his game degenerated into running, and Alvarez spent most of the fight chasing him around the ring as Lara put his back on the ropes and slid from one side of the ring to the other, doing all he could not to engage the much more powerful Alvarez.
The bout was contracted at 155 pounds, so Lara's 154-pound world title was not at stake, and Alvarez didn't want to fight for it anyway. Lara said he would break Alvarez's face, but instead he did not come to fight. Alvarez did, and that was the difference. Any element of controversy centers strictly on Levi Martinez's 117-111 scorecard. That's not the best scorecard ever and maybe it's off by a couple of rounds, but it doesn't change the fact that Alvarez won the fight, even if it was close.
Alvarez landed an uppercut in the seventh round that opened a bloody cut over Lara's right eye. Alvarez's jab was totally ineffective (a measly 9 of 183, 5 percent) but he landed 88 of 232 power shots (38 percent) while Lara landed 52 of 140 power shots (37 percent).
Overall, Alvarez connected on 97 of 415 punches (23 percent) and Lara landed 107 of 386 (28 percent), according to CompuBox punch statistics. Alvarez's were more solid while the bulk of Lara's were either jabs or punches with little steam on them because he did not throw them with authority.
After the fight, Lara, who had spent ages calling Alvarez out on social media and crashed his news conference after beating Angulo in March, called for a rematch. That is laughable. He's not going to get one because there is no point. It was a bad fight because of the way he fought, and who would pony up to buy it again? Lara had his chance and he blew it. But he still has his belt and, thanks to having Al Haymon as his adviser, likely will find a place somewhere on television, just not on a big pay-per-view in a rematch. Alvarez, however, will be back in November, according to Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya. Hopefully, his next opponent will come to fight, not just talk a big game and then run away.
Abner Mares W10 Jonathan Oquendo
Featherweight
Scores: 98-92 (twice), 96-94
Records: Mares (27-1-1, 14 KOs); Oquendo (24-4, 16 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: The good news for Mares, the former three-division titleholder, is that he returned from an 11-month layoff and his first loss to score a clear victory. The bad news for Mares was that it was a sloppy, sluggish performance that was a far cry from his best, when he rolled through bantamweight, junior featherweight and featherweight to win world titles in a 21-month span.
Mares, 28, a former Mexican Olympian living in Southern California, admitted that he was rusty from the time off following a first-round knockout loss to Jhonny Gonzalez, who scored that huge upset last summer to take Mares' featherweight belt. Mares was also getting used to his new trainer, Virgil Hunter, whom he was working with for the first time since leaving Clemente Medina. Implementing Hunter's more defensively responsible style must have been a change for Mares, whose offensive was not nearly as sharp as usual against Oquendo, 30, of Puerto Rico, who gave Mares a few problems, including opening a terrible cut over his left eye in the fourth round. Jacob "Stitch" Duran, Mares' cutman, did a tremendous job of closing the wound, which never became a major problem. But Mares was methodical and landed 49 percent of his power punches, according to CompuBox, which doubled up Oquendo, who landed 24 percent.
All in all, Mares won a terribly boring fight but did what was necessary -- win, and put himself back in position to fight for a title again, be it a rematch with Gonzalez, which he claims he wants, or some other notable fight.
Francisco Vargas TKO3 Juan Manuel Lopez
Junior lightweight
Records: Vargas (20-0-1, 14 KOs); Lopez (34-4, 31 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Vargas, 29, a 2008 Mexican Olympian managed by Joel De La Hoya (Oscar's brother), scored by far the biggest win of his career in impressive fashion while also hopefully sending Lopez, a former junior featherweight and featherweight titlist, into retirement. Vargas destroyed Lopez, who looked hurt every time Vargas grazed his chin. Lopez, who has been drilled in all four of his losses, simply can't take a powerful punch anymore. The 2004 Puerto Rican Olympian reacts so poorly to shots that he looks like a bad injury waiting to happen if he keeps fighting.
Vargas hurt Lopez in the second round and continued to batter him in the action-packed third round, which should be a round-of-the-year candidate. They were trading toe-to-toe during the third, but Vargas was cleaning Lopez's clock and finally dropped him with a hail of shots late in the round. Lopez, 31, beat the count and looked shaky, taking a tremendous pounding as the round came to an end.
While Lopez, who has a huge heart, surely would have continued for as long as he could, his corner did the wise thing and threw in the towel with Lopez on the stool. The knockout win Lopez had in March over former titleholder Daniel Ponce De Leon in their rematch temporarily resurrected Lopez's career, but Ponce De Leon was even more shot than Lopez is now. This should be the end for Lopez, who had a tremendously exciting career. For Vargas, this was a big step toward a possible 130-pound world title shot.
Mauricio Herrera W12 Johan Perez
Wins an interim junior welterweight title
Scores: 116-112 (twice), 114-114
Records: Herrera (21-4, 7 KOs); Perez (19-2-1, 13 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Without question, Herrera's hard-fought victory against Perez was the fight of the night on the "Honor & Glory" pay-per-view. These guys came to do battle and they entertained the fans throughout a close, competitive fight.
Perez, 31, of Venezuela, was making the second defense of his interim belt (whatever that is worth), but Herrera was up to the task. In March, Herrera took on the real division champ, Danny Garcia, and lost a majority decision that many thought he clearly won. He looked just as sharp against Perez. The fight started a bit slowly as they adjusted to each others' awkward style but by the fifth round the fight was in full blaze and Herrera had seemingly taken command. Herrera, 34, of Riverside, California, rocked Perez in the fifth round with a right hand. In the eighth round they traded with abandon with some of the best action of the fight. They went back and forth, round after round, but Herrera was a touch better and landed the crisper shots. It was a well-deserved victory for a very good fighter, who with the performances against Garcia and Perez earned himself another high-profile fight.
Tomoki Kameda KO7 Pungluang Sor Singyu
Retains a bantamweight title
Scores: 116-112 (twice), 114-114
Records: Kameda (30-0, 19 KOs); Sor Singyu (46-3, 31 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Kameda is one of Japan's fighting Kameda brothers, who have all won world titles, including Koki (bantamweight) and Daiki (junior bantamweight). At one point, they all held world titles simultaneously, the first time in boxing history three brothers had done that, but Tomoki might turn out to be the best of the trio.
He celebrated his 23rd birthday with a sweet one-punch knockout of mandatory challenger Sor Singyu, 26, of Thailand. Kameda was making his second title defense in what was also his U.S. debut. He has been based in Mexico recently, fighting out of the Canelo Promotions stable, and landed a slot on Canelo Alvarez's undercard because of it. He impressed against a normally durable opponent, who was also fighting in the United States for the first time.
Kameda used his speed and quick punches to fluster Sor Singyu, who marched forward looking to make it a slugfest. He attacked Kameda's body in an effort to slow him down and also rocked him with a right hand in the fourth round. But the patient Kameda finally found an opening and connected with a perfect left hook to the liver, which cut Sor Singyu down as if he had been shot. He was in agony on the mat when referee Russell Mora waved it off at 1 minute, 35 seconds. Kameda's U.S. television debut was impressive and hopefully we will see more of him.
Saturday at Liverpool, England
Tony Bellew TKO5 Julio Cesar Dos Santos
Cruiserweight
Records: Bellew (22-2-1, 14 KOs); Dos Santos (26-3, 23 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Twice Bellew, of England, challenged for a light heavyweight world title, losing a disputed majority decision to Nathan Cleverly in 2011 and getting drilled in the sixth round by Adonis Stevenson in November. After that defeat, Bellew, 31, moved up to cruiserweight and won his second in a row in the division against Dos Santos, 36, of Brazil.
It was a pivotal victory because Cleverly won on the undercard. With both of them victorious in their showcase fights, promoter Eddie Hearn plans to make a rematch for the fall.
Dos Santos landed some solid right hands, especially in the third round, but Bellew took them well before ending the fight in explosive fashion in the fifth round, when he floored Dos Santos with a clean left hook to the jaw. Dos Santos beat the count, but he was very wobbly and referee Phil Edwards stopped the fight at 1 minute, 17 seconds.
Nathan Cleverly TKO4 Alejandro Valori
Cruiserweight
Records: Cleverly (28-1, 14 KOs); Valori (15-5, 11 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: In August, Cleverly lost his light heavyweight world title by a one-sided fourth-round destruction at the hands of Sergey Kovalev. In May, Cleverly, 27, of Wales, moved up to cruiserweight and returned with a second-round knockout win against a soft touch. Valori, 31, who was fighting outside of his native Argentina for the first time and taking a massive step up in his competition level, was Cleverly's second soft touch in a row.
The idea was for Cleverly to win this showcase fight, with Tony Bellew winning in the main, to set up a fall rematch of Cleverly's majority decision win in their excellent 2011 light heavyweight world title bout. Mission accomplished.
Valori looked like he might give Cleverly some problems when he rocked him with a left uppercut in the first round, but he did very little besides that. Cleverly knocked Valori down to a knee with a digging left hook to the body in the second round. He continued to attack Valori to the body and dropped him again with another hook to the body in the fourth round. Although Valori beat the count, referee Terry O'Connor didn't like what he saw and waved off the fight at 1minute, 16 seconds. The path is now clear for Cleverly-Bellew II.
Anthony Joshua TKO2 Matt Skelton
Heavyweight
Records: Joshua (7-0, 7 KOs); Skelton (28-9, 23 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: The 2012 British Olympic super heavyweight gold medalist took on the most notable opponent of his young career in former world title challenger Skelton and blew him away in most impressive fashion. Granted, Skelton -- the former British, Commonwealth and European champion -- is 47 and had not fought in 16 months. But compared to the previous six opponents Joshua has faced, he was Joe Louis. Ideally, Skelton would have at least given Joshua some rounds -- Joshua still has not been past two full rounds.
Joshua went right at Skelton to make it a physical fight in the first round as he roughed him up and backed him into the ropes. But Skelton, in his third straight loss, got in a few solid shots that Joshua took well. By the end of the round, Joshua was firing his stiff jab down the middle into Skelton's face and had landed two hard right hands.
A right hand rocked Skelton midway through the second round and another big right hand dropped him. Skelton barely beat the count and Joshua nailed him with a jab and a right hand, sending him into the ropes. Referee Steve Gray jumped in to save the wobbly Skelton at 2 minutes, 33 seconds. It was a most impressive performance from Joshua, who will be back in action Aug. 30 in Dublin against Yaroslav Zavorotnyi (16-7, 14 KOs) of Ukraine, who took British prospect David Price the 10-round distance in a June 7 loss.
Also on the card, two other 2012 British Olympians won: Gold medalist Luke Campbell (6-0, 4 KOs), 26, took a six-round shutout decision (60-54) over Craig Woodruff (5-4, 2 KOs), 21, of Wales, in a lightweight bout, and bronze medalist Anthony Ogogo (7-0, 4 KOs), 25, stopped Wayne Reed (10-9, 5 KOs), 26, of England, at 1 minute, 6 seconds of the fifth round in their middleweight contest.
Friday at Shelton, Wash.
Tureano Johnson W10 Mike Gavronski
Middleweight
Scores: 99-91 (three times)
Records: Johnson (15-1, 10 KOs); Gavronski (14-1-1, 10 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Johnson, 30, of the Bahamas, hit the radar in April when he battled Curtis Stevens in a fight-of-the-year contender that ended with Johnson on the short end of a quick stoppage in the 10th round. Making his return to the ring, Johnson had a much easier time as he rolled to a near-shutout of hometown fighter Garvonski, 28, of North Bend, Washington, in the "Friday Night Fights" main event.
Although Johnson, who needed extra time to lose an additional two pounds at the weigh-in, started a tad slowly, he cruised, keeping the pressure on Gavronski throughout and wearing him down. He was exhausted by the end of the fight and took a lot of punishment in the final couple of rounds.
"I wanted to get back in the win column," Johnson said afterward. "Gavronski is a good fighter with a lot of heart so I take my hat off to him for going the distance with me. I learned a lot in this fight and I feel I still have room to grow as a fighter. My goal is to become a champion one day and I'm not going to stop until I accomplish it."
Jonathan Maicelo W10 Art Hovhannisyan
Lightweight
Scores: 100-90, 97-93 Maicelo, 96-94 Hovhannisyan
Records: Maicelo (21-1, 12 KOs); Hovhannisyan (17-2-2, 9 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Maicelo, 30, who is from Peru but lives in North Bergen, New Jersey, won a split decision in an exciting fight -- but a split verdict? Please. It was bizarre that judge Glen Hamada could have possibly had Hovhannisyan, 32, of Glendale, California, winning the fight. There is no way Maicelo lost this fight. None. Oddball scoring aside, good fight here, but it was Maicelo who took control out of the gate.
Maicelo boxed well and landed some nice shots on Hovhannisyan, whose game is all about coming forward and applying pressure. But he didn't have a lot of success with that strategy against the slicker Maicelo, who swelled Hovhannisyan's left eye. In the end, the CompuBox punch statistics clearly illustrated how this fight went as Maicelo connected on 160 of 490 punches (33 percent) and Hovhannisyan landed 93 of 368 (25 percent).
One odd aspect of the fight was the big screwup by an inept timekeeper, who ended the fifth round after only two minutes.
Friday at Pittsburgh
Paul Spadafora W8 Hector Velazquez
Junior welterweight
Scores: 80-72, 79-73 (twice)
Records: Spadafora (49-1-1, 19 KOs); Velazquez (56-22-3, 28 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Former lightweight titlist Spadafora, 38, of Pittsburgh, whose problems outside the ring (alcoholism, jail time) have been well-chronicled, got a chance to fight Johan Perez for a vacant interim 140-pound belt in November and lost a majority decision in his first career defeat.
Making his return from that fight, Spadafora took on the ultra-experienced Velazquez, 39, of Mexico, who is way past his best days as a decent featherweight contender and was knocked out by Manny Pacquiao in 2005. Spadafora, a good southpaw with quick hands, rolled to the lopsided decision against the slower Velazquez, who is nothing more than an opponent these days. He cut Velazquez in the second round and sent him to his second loss in a row and fourth defeat in six bouts.
Thursday at Miami
Rances Barthelemy W12 Argenis Mendez
Wins a junior lightweight title
Scores: 115-111 (three times)
Records: Barthelemy (20-0, 12 KOs); Mendez (21-3-1, 11 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: On Jan. 3, Mendez defended his title against Barthelemy, who dominated the fight, knocked Mendez down late in the second round and then knocked him out moments later. However, the KO blows were thrown just after the bell rang to end the round, making them illegal. However, referee Pete Podgorski counted Mendez out and declared Barthelemy the winner despite having scored the knockout on an accidental foul.
Mendez, 28, a Dominican Republic native fighting out of Brooklyn, New York, protested the result to Minnesota regulators. The result was eventually changed to a no-decision and the title returned to him.
A rematch was ordered and while Mendez, who fell to an odd 0-1-1 with a no-decision in three title defenses, didn't get knocked out, he fought poorly in a bout that didn't seem as close as the scores. Barthelemy, 28, a Cuban defector living in Miami, finished what he started six months ago. He was more aggressive throughout the fight, which contained only sporadic action. But Barthelemy hurt Mendez in the first round and Mendez didn't seem very interested in fighting or throwing any punches for long stretches. His promoter, Mike Tyson, was begging him at ringside to get busy.
Referee Telis Assimenios docked Barthelemy one point in the ninth round and one in the 10th for low blows. He flirted with a disqualification but he was the clear winner in a crappy fight.
Humberto Savigne TKO2 Jeff Lacy
Light heavyweight
Records: Savigne (13-1, 10 KOs); Lacy (26-5, 18 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Savigne, 35, a former Cuban amateur standout now living in Miami, finished off the remnants of former super middleweight titleholder Lacy, 37, of St. Petersburg, Florida, who was never the same after taking an absolute beating in a title unification fight with Joe Calzaghe in 2006. Lacy, a 2000 U.S. Olympian, retired in 2010 only to make an ill-advised return in November, when he stopped D-level opponent Martin Verdin in the third round. In the second fight of the comeback, he got smoked by Savigne.
Savigne did damage in a brutally one-sided first round. He rocked Lacy with a right hand and followed it with a hard left to the body and two more right hands to the head to knock Lacy down. Lacy, who beat the count, complained that he was hit behind the head, but he leaned into the shot. Lacy's legs looked horrible and he was lucky to make it out of the first round.
Savigne continued to hammer Lacy in the second round. Every shot looked like it hurt Lacy. When Savigne landed about eight unanswered shots with Lacy cornered, referee Sam Burgos jumped in and waved it off at 2 minutes, 4 seconds. Lacy, who landed just 5 of 20 punches (25 percent), is totally finished. Savigne connected on 40 of 94 punches (43 percent), and despite his age and long amateur career (about 450 fights) looks like he could become a player at 175 pounds.
Also on the card, heralded welterweight prospect Erickson Lubin (6-0, 5 KOs), of Orlando, Florida, stepped way up in class compared to his first five opponents and pitched an 80-72 shutout on all three scorecards against the experienced Noe Bolanos (25-10-1, 16 KOs), 27, of Mexico. Lubin, an 18-year-old southpaw, was in his first scheduled eight-round fight and had no trouble with Bolanos or going the distance.
In another undercard bout of note, cruiserweight Yunier Dorticos (18-0, 17 KOs), 28, a former Cuban amateur standout living in Miami, went the distance for the first time as he routed long-faded former middleweight and super middleweight title challenger Edison Miranda (35-10, 30 KOs), 33, of Colombia, winning 100-90, 100-90 and 99-91. Miranda, winless since 2011, lost his fourth fight in a row.
Going to update the OP with the rest of the July schedule and the title with this week's fights.
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Wonder how much more Algieri finagled from the $1.5M guaranteed base. Dulorme wanted the Pacquiao fight, if that influenced the pace of negotiations at all.
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Algieri's camp had a legitimate gripe when negotiating. Pacquiao's last two PPV's haven't sold well, so the add-on bonus on top of the base $1.5M means little.So how do they sell it? Manny getting revenge for Freddie?I would say they'd better stack that card but it's Arum. No way in hell i'm paying $80 for this.
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Lol at Algieri complaining about the PPV money based on Manny's numbers. Nobody will be tuning in to watch Algieri except the population of Long Island.
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Shockingly defeated "Siberian Rocky" and only made $100K. This is his chance for perhaps the largest payday of his career. Pacquiao is supposed to be the draw as arguably the second or third most popular fighter in the sport.
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I understand that, but in spite of him beating Provodnikov the folks tuning in to watch Algieri against Pacquiao will be a tiny fraction of the viewers. He'll be guaranteed 15 times what he got paid for on his last fight. They could easily give the fight to somebody else that would perhaps be a better draw. Algieri hasn't even been on a ppv event yet to prove he can sell anything. The HBO numbers for the Provodnikov fight were great, but had it been $75, I doubt it would've sold well.
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Is the Rigo fight still not being televised?
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The 24/7 is going to be awful
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Arum 
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The good news is this is the final bout in his three fight contract with Top Rank, and I don't think there's any way he renews that deal.